Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has made a major decision regarding Martin Odegaard as the golden boot race leader labelled the Arsenal captain as his 'biggest rival'. The Gunners are currently two points ahead of City in the Premier League despite losing to Pep Guardiola's side last week.
Arsenal are on the hunt for their first Premier League trophy since 2004, whilst Guardiola is hoping his players can win their fifth title in six years - cementing their status as one of the best teams in the history of the division. Haaland scored in the 3-1 win against the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium, but missed a number of chances as City drew to Nottingham Forest just days later.
26 goals in 22 appearances in his debut Premier League season is an astonishing record, and throughout his career he has played with many talented playmakers. At Borussia Dortmund it was Jude Bellingham, now at City it's Kevin De Bruyne - and for his country it's Gunners captain Odegaard.
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Bellingham could follow Haaland from Dortmund to the Etihad Stadium this summer, but it is thought that Real Madrid and Liverpool lead the race for his signature with a number of others keen. Now the 22-year-old striker has chosen which player is his favourite in a game of start, bench, sell.
This all-important question was posed to Haaland during a recent interview, conducted by social media personality Liv Wang. The striker immediately started laughing when presented with the dilemma, stating: "Ah, that's a difficult question."
He then went on to explain how he'd have to start his City teammate De Bruyne, for obvious reasons. "I have to start Kevin [De Bruyne]," he stressed.
Haaland then went on to say that he'd sell Bellingham - though not because he doesn't rate the English midfielder - rather, the opposite. The City striker added: "Jude, I think I would get so much money for right now, because he's so young, so I would get rid of him and sell him for loads of money!"
Whilst Odegaard and Haaland share a good friendship which fans caught a glimpse of during last week's title clash at the Emirates Stadium, the Norwegian striker admitted his compatriot is his 'biggest rival' at present given the ongoing battle between their two clubs. "Odegaard, my biggest rival at the moment – I have to bench him," Haaland said.
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